Marshall's Missing
by MysticalStrawberry
Summary: A day after a huge storm rocks Aaa, Marshall decides to leave and go on a journey. Before he can leave, however, he gets kidnapped by an unknown assailant. Gumball, unsure why Marshall has left, sets out with Fionna to look for the missing Vampire King. Yaoi, future lemon
1. Chapter 1

Gumball sat in the main hall, legs crossed high, his nose buried in a book about baking. "Ooh, that is a recipe I shall have to try," He reached across the table, taking notes on a piece of paper. He startled when he heard a loud crack echoing across the sky. He looked up just in time to see rain pouring from the sky in torrents. He set the book on the table and crossed the room, looking out the window curiously. "That's unusual. I didn't realize rain was in the forecast for today." He studied the landscape. It was a terrible storm indeed. Water poured from the sky in a terrifying manner, and the wind blew the rain to where it was falling nearly horizontally. He leaned against the frame, thinking about Marshall. _It seems like Marshall and I finally worked out our problems. _The thought put him in excellent spirits.

Gumball tied his apron around his waist. _Here I thought we would never resolve things. _Gumball frowned and looked back out the window. _Speaking of Marshall Lee, I wonder where he is. I haven't seen him for a few days. _He measured out some flour, putting it into a bowl. _Well, he tends to come and go anyway. _The thunder crashed across the sky, startling Gumball. "Goodness," Gumball spoke up. "That's quite a storm." He looked out the window. The trees were doubled over, nearly snapped in half under the immense wind. "I hope all my candy citizens are safe."

Across Aaa, Marshall was slumped in the air, his head hanging down, chin pointed at the ceiling, eyes closed, deep in thought. _Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here. _He flew out the door and to the edge of the cave. The wind was howling fiercely outside and the trees were almost broken in half. _Maybe it's time to go travelling again. I've done it before. Taken years to travel the world and see things. I don't know that settling down is really the thing for me. Issue is, I don't know how I'd tell Fionna. Or Gumball. I've disappeared from people's lives before. Maybe that's the best option for me. _

Marshall stared out at the swirling, raging storm out ahead. The wind blew horizontally, beating at the trees already bent in half at the fierce wind. Experimentally, Marshall stuck his arm out in it. The raindrops pelted his skin like little volts of lightning, each one hurting worse than the last. He removed his arm, rubbing it. _Everytime I get comfortable somewhere, it's time to leave it. And I've grown comfortable. _Marshall looked up, calling the storm to produce a gigantic bolt of lightning, and with it came a truly terrific crash of thunder. _Turmoil. I've travelled my whole life. It's beginning to get boring here. I don't do boring. _Marshall retreated back into the cave, entering his house. He floated into the kitchen, and straight through, up to his room, grabbing his bass as he went. _Of course, my leaving has nothing to do with Gumball and I. _He tossed the bass on the bed. _It's just time to go. _He floated into the bathroom to take a bath. _Drifting again. I wonder if they'll really miss me. _

Once the storm had passed, Marshall wrote a small note, to tape to the door. He assumed Fionna would be by eventually, she always dropped by unexpected and uninvited. He stopped and took a look around his front room, looking around. _Well, I guess that's goodbye. _Just as he finished, there was a knock at the door.

Marshall set the note down on the coffee table and went to answer the door. He pulled it open and his eyes met whoever was standing at the other side. His eyes widened and he took a step back. "What are YOU doing here? I told you, get lost!" As he went to shut the door, sleep gas hit him with its full effect and his lifeless body collapsed onto the porch, a heavy thump as he collapsed.

"Cake. I'm bored." Fionna kicked her feet, lying on the floor on her stomach, the treehouse a total mess, with trash and clothes and living articles lying everywhere. "There's nothing to do!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Fionna, I am reading my soaps," Cake turned a page, continuing to read. She was purposely ignoring the mess. It was Fionna's turn to clean after all, and she wasn't lifting a paw until Fionna took some initiative and starting cleaning herself.

"Ughhh…" Fionna rolled over onto her back. "I gotta do something, I'm going crazy."

"Why don't you try cleaning something?" Cake questioned, curtly.

Fionna's mobile phone rang from across the treehouse. "I wonder who that is." Fionna got to her feet, walking over to her backpack to answer it. She lifted the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Fionna? It's me. Gumball."

"Oh hey Gumball! What's up? Got some more fluffy people missions again?"

"Oh no, not this time. This may sound weird but I haven't heard from Marshall in some time. And I was wondering if you had."

"I haven't. Hold on. CAKE!" Fionna hollered.

"What?" Cake asked, grouchily.

"You heard from Marshall?"

"Not for the last two weeks."

"She says no, not in like two weeks. I'm gonna go over and check on him, since you're worried."

"Oh. Okay. Thanks, Fionna."

The two of them hung up and Fionna slipped her backpack on. "I'm gonna go check on Marshall, Cake. I'll be back later!" Fionna headed out the door.

Cake settled down even further into the chair she was sitting in. "Good. Maybe now I can finally finish my soaps in peace."

The sun shining and slight breeze put Fionna in a better mood than she'd been in her house, although she wondered about Marshall. Fionna headed over to Marshall's, admiring the scenery. _Everything got so green after that big rainstorm! _The trees and grass were a bright, vivid green, and the sun was shining. Occasionally a large cloud blocked the sun, but Fionna didn't mind it either way. _It's a perfect day! I hope I don't wake Marshall up though. Gumball must have been pretty worried if he had me go check on Marshall right now… _

She arrived at the cave, and headed inside. _Everything seems normal… _She headed up to Marshall's house, looking for something weird. Everything seemed normal. Fionna knocked on the door. There was silence from within. Fionna knocked harder. The door swung open, to Fionna's surprise. _The door wasn't locked? _"MARSHALL…" Fionna yelled, going inside to look for him. "HEY, WHERE YOU AT? I'M IN YOUR HOUSE." She found a folded note on the coffee table. She unfolded it, reading what's inside. "Dear guys," Fionna read. "I'm going on a long journey across the world again. Life in Aaa is just not exciting enough for me. Don't worry, and don't look for me. I'll be back, ~Marshall. He left?! Without TELLING me?" Fionna called up Gumball. "Gumball, Marshall's gone. He left a note saying he's going on a long journey, and not to worry or look for him. I'm going to look for him!"

"Fionna, that's… you have no idea where he's gone," Gumball protested, weakly. "He's done this before. It's not unlike him to leave…"

"Gumball, the door was unlocked!"

"So what?" Gumball frowned.

"His AXE BASS is here!"

"Oh my goodness, I'll be right over!"

They hung up. About ten minutes later, Gumball came rushing in, totally out of breath. "S-sorry, here now! Let me see the note!" Fionna handed the note over, watching Gumball curiously. Gumball took a few breaths to catch his breath. "Yes, this is definitely his handwriting. He definitely wrote this. However, I honestly cannot believe he'd leave his axe bass here. This must have been a diversion tactic. Whoever took Marshall, and I believe he was taken… must have forced him to write this."

"There's no way he just left on his own, and left his bass here! He treats that axe bass better than he does his own life. He wouldn't leave it here!" Fionna shook her head. "NO WAY!"

"It's got dust all over it. It's been sitting a while. There's no way Marshall would let dust build up on his axe bass like this. Marshall must have been gone a while." Gumball straightened up. "Judging by the dust, it must have been at least a few days." He walked upstairs. Fionna wondered what he was doing. Gumball came back with a sheet and he dusted the axe bass off. "He'll be furious if he sees his axe bass like this." Gumball covered it in the sheet, wrapping it up carefully. "There. Now it won't get all dusty."

"Aww…" Fionna grinned. "That's so nice of you, Gumball!"

Gumball blushed. "Y-yeah, well, I don't like him! I just… I thought I would be nice!"

"Yeah, right! You big old softy!" Fionna punched him in the shoulder.

"Oww! Fionna, really! Stop that!" he rubbed his upper arm. "We really need to find some clues about where he's gone to."

"You're right! I can't imagine he'd just disappear…" Fionna looked around. "But I really have no idea where to begin looking!"

Gumball walked over to the door and studied it. "It wasn't forced. He definitely opened it." he leaned forward and sniffed the doorway. "AHA! Sleeping gas!" He seemed proud.

"Sleeping gas? Someone used sleeping gas on him?" Fionna questioned. "But…" _But if someone used sleeping gas on him, how did he write that note? There's no signs of struggle… _

"It has to be. There are clear traces of sleeping gas on this door. Whoever got him, used sleeping gas… or maybe some kind of… 'sleep spell'," he made the quotation marks with his fingers. "To make him drowsy. Then they forced Marshall to write the note and then they kidnapped him!" Gumball was nodding, proud of himself.

"I don't… know. That doesn't quite…" Fionna started.

"Fionna. Are you suggesting you have otherwise evidence?" Gumball crossed his arms.

"Well… It just doesn't make sense. If he were all drowsy like you said, then the note would be funny... There's no signs of struggle so…" Fionna trailed off. "I don't really know. Let's just keep looking around."

"Hmmf." Gumball stepped outside. _I can't believe Marshall was kidnapped. Who would kidnap him? _He walked around the porch, looking carefully. _Whoever did it, they must know Marshall really well. To get him to write that note. I just can't believe he'd take off again… Aha! _"Fionna, I found something!" Gumball called inside.

Fionna rushed over to him. "What, what is it?" She looked down to where Gumball was pointing. "A piece of his shirt?" she removed it from the nail that was sticking up out of the porch. "So… wait. He was dragged out of here?"

"That's what it looks like. And if he's playing a prank on us, so help me GLOB," Gumball screamed at the roof of the cave.

"I don't think it's a prank this time. Although that doesn't sound unlike him… I just get really bad vibes. Besides that, he loves this shirt." Fionna glanced up at Gumball.

"Yes, you're right. That's his favorite shirt." Gumball sighed a bit. "He wouldn't rip it, even for a prank."

"We need some kind of clue to tell us who would have taken Marshall…" Fionna made a face. "I'm gonna look around inside some."

"Wait I'll go with you," Gumball followed after her. Fionna didn't see anything in the living room so she checked the kitchen. Nothing unusual in there either, so Fionna headed upstairs. "F-fionna, are you sure you should be going into his bedroom?"

"Why? I've been in here before," Fionna crawled out onto the top floor.

"You- you've been in Marshall's bedroom? Why?! When!?" Gumball demanded.

"One time, Cake and I were playing around outside Marshall's house and I suddenly thought that it'd be hilarious if we went inside and hid to scare Marshall. So we went upstairs to his room to hide in the closet. But then, while we were in the closet, he got naked, like, totally naked. And then he started playing his bass and we couldn't just jump out and scare him, you know. He was NAKED." Fionna shook her head. "So we had to wait until he went to the bathroom and then we left."

"… M-marshall plays his bass naked?" Gumball turned his back to Fionna, going through some stuff on a side table, blushing too hard for Fionna to see his face. "Th-that's disgusting. I'm so glad I wasn't there to see that!" he said, his voice sounding a bit over enthusiastic and forced.

"Yeah, it was super weird." Fionna continued digging on the other side of the room. "Oh, look, here's a stack of letters. Oh! Here's one that looks suspicious," Fionna lifted the opened flap, pulling the letter out.

"Fionna, don't go reading his personal mail!" Gumball opened the closet, glancing over at Fionna as she started to read. He snatched a shirt off the hanger and tucked it into his shirt for safekeeping. _No one ever has to know about this. _

"It's unsigned. It says… 'Marshy-poo, I need you to come right away. Meet me at the castle.'" Fionna snickered. "MARSHY-POO? This girl is hilarious!"

"So you think it's a girl then?" Gumball questioned, his tone guarded.

"Of course I do. Marshy-poo was enough for me. No guy would write this with a serious face. Except maybe you, Gumball. You didn't write this, did you?"

Gumball's face flushed even deeper. "Don't be RIDICULOUS! Of COURSE not!" he buried his face in the stuff he was digging through. _Eek. I'll have to be more careful the next time I write letters. _

"I've got another one. This one's just signed, A. It says, 'Marshall, darling, I know you and I got off on the wrong foot last time, but I know that we can work things out between us. You love me far too much to let me go. I may have made a mistake, but as I've found out, you've rectified it since. Since the problem is solved, there is no problem! Take care to write me back to let me know when I can come visit. A.'" Fionna wrinkled her nose. "Who is A? What problem?"

Gumball wrinkled his nose. "A. Got off on the wrong foot… love… I have no idea."

"Me either… but we have to keep looking. I'm going to keep this note just in case. It might come in handy." Fionna took the note and they continued searching. "That's all I found, Gumball," Fionna shook her head.

"I didn't manage to find anything," Gumball's eyes fell on the recording station next to Marshall's bed.

"Okay. I'm going to explore outside the cave. You check inside," Fionna climbed down and ran out the front door.

Gumball walked over to the station, rewinding the tape a few minutes and then clicking it on.

"I know this isn't a rap but…" Gumball heard Marshall chuckle, although it was almost forced. "I don't much feel like it right now. The thought crossed my head a few weeks ago that maybe it was time for me to start travelling again. After all, I haven't seen the whole world yet. I've thought about it, long and hard. And the best way for me to do it is to simply disappear. One day, they'll go to bed and I'll just vanish…" There was a pause. "Maybe come back. Maybe settle down somewhere else. Besides that, SHE's found me so… now's a great time to do that. Reminder, don't date any of those crazy witches. Gah, she's sent me like… three letters already. _Marshy-poo, I miss you! Oh, Marshall, darling, please write me back, I know we can work it out. _She's delusional. I'd rather skip the country than work things out with Ashley. As soon as this storm passes, I'm bouncing. No goodbyes, no see yous… just me departing into the night and disappearing. And just to silence those thoughts in my head, no I am not leaving because of anyone. Except Ashley. Gotta start packing. I can't just leave everything here. Who knows what'd happen to my bass while I was gone?" The tape clicked off and Gumball sat in silence.

_He really was planning on taking off again. Without saying goodbye. Again. _He got to his feet. _Well, I can't say he got what was coming to him, but I will say that I'm hurt that he wouldn't even come say goodbye. _He headed outside, to search the yard with Fionna. _I guess we start looking for a witch named Ashley._


	2. Chapter 2

Marshall was sitting in a large white room, unsure where he was. The walls seemed to stretch as far as he could see, however, he could see that there were walls. "HELLO? Yo, anyone out there!" he yelled, getting to his feet. "Man this place is super weird…" He felt a presence behind him.

"Boo!"

Marshall startled, turning to face Gumball. "Agh! Man, you t… I- I mean… ha, good one, Bubs. You like, TOTALLY got me."

Gumball laughed a bit, moving towards Marshall. "I'm glad," he wrapped his arms around Marshall's neck.

"Uh… uh, Gumball, what are you doing?" Marshall froze up. "I don't think that…"

Gumball placed a small kiss on Marshall's neck. He continued to place small kisses down Marshall's neck, which caused his face to go crimson. "G- Gumball, I don't think-" Gumball smiled at him, standing up on his tiptoes to kiss Marshall on the mouth. Marshall froze, feeling Gumball's tongue probing his mouth. Marshall strained to touch him, but found he couldn't move. He awoke in a cold sweat. He jerked his head away when he saw it wasn't Gumball standing in front of him. "Wh-what… Oh! Sick! Get away from me, you witch!" He scowled, turning away from her. "Ashley, seriously! Get away from me!" Standing over him, was an attractive witch with long white hair and pointy ears.

"Oh, but Marshall, darling, haven't you missed me?" she nuzzled his hair, breathing in his scent. "Because I know I missed you terribly!"

"Ugh, no, not even a little bit," Marshall snarled. "Why am I chained to this table? Let me go!" he morphed into his bat form, but the larger he grew, the tighter the chains wrapped around his neck, choking him. Gasping for air, he shrunk back down to normal size. "Ugh! Ash...ley, what… do you want?" he managed. He looked around the room, his chest heaving for air. It was dirty and dismayed, empty bottles and trash everywhere, tables filled with random junk.

"Oh, nothing major! I just wanted to be with you," she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him, the cold table chilling her skin. "Don't you know how I feel about you Marshy?"

"Yeah, well, I think you're a nasty old bag and you need to let me go right NOW," he snarled. "Did you REALLY think I was going to run back to you after you chained me to a TABLE?"

"Oh, letting you go wouldn't be any fun, Marshy…" Ashley walked slowly around the table, sliding her hand around the edge of it. Marshall watched her closely, unsure what she would do. She walked around past his feet, and around the other side of the table, walking up it slowly. "You know what I'm going to do now, Marshy?" Her voice was low, intimidating. She disappeared from his view and Marshall knew he didn't like when he couldn't see her.

Marshall narrowed his eyes and tensed his body. "Let me go?"

"HA! No. Don't be silly." Ashley grinned. "I'm going to make you love me again..." she laid her head against his, stroking his hair. She breathed in the smell of his hair. "My evil half-demon boyfriend. No one has ever been able to stand up to the expectations against Marshall Lee, the half-demon Vampire King. So I assumed… If I can't replace you… I'll just take you back," she said in a sweet voice, her clawlike fingers running through his hair.

"Ugh! No way! You're completely crazy!" Marshall struggled against the chains while Ashley strolled over to the small table next to the one Marshall was strapped to.

"Mayyyyybe. I've never been… officially diagnosed." She picked up a beautiful orchid wand off the table. "Are you ready, Marshall? Because I am…"

"Agh! No!" Marshall struggled but it was of no use. One tap of her wand and Marshall was out, sleeping peacefully on the table.

"Now let's see what I can do to fix us," Ashley leaned forward, casting a spell over his body. "Marshall, tell me all about your life…"

"I live in my cave house," the semi-asleep Marshall spoke up.

"Oh don't be silly sweetie, you live with me, don't you? Here?" Ashley questioned.

"... Oh… yeah… I hang out with my friends, Gumball and Fionna…"

"Who are they? I am your only friend," she stroked his hair. "Any thought of them brings you pain, doesn't it? It hurts little old you to even think about anyone like that. Those imaginary people..." she buried her face in his neck. "I'm the only person you have. The other girls? They're all gone. This… Gumball? He doesn't want anything to do with you anymore, he doesn't exist. It's just us. And this… Fionna girl… didn't you tell me you had a dream where you made her up? Don't worry your beautiful mind with such ridiculous people." She kept her voice calm, and soothing. "What else do you do, Marshall? Tell me everything."

Once Marshall had told her everything, and she had talked him into believing all her lies, she went and undid all of Marshall's chains, dragging him over to the couch, knocking the trash off it. She lay him on the couch, pulling a blanket over him. "I'll see you when you wake up, sweetie."

"Mmm… I've never done this before." Gumball wrinkled his nose, looking up at the looming wall ahead.

"We've got to talk to the leader of Wizard World to get more information about Ashley." Fionna insisted. "We don't have any alternatives. Did you talk to Ice Queen?"

Gumball made a face. "Why do I always have to talk to Ice Queen?"

"She doesn't like me like she likes you!" Fionna insisted.

"Yeah but, Fionna, it's different," he wrinkled his nose, disgusted. "Anyway, I got it. She'd do anything to help Marshall." he held up a candy tape recorder. "Ahh… one moment," he fastforwarded the tape, before pushing play.

"The password is Wizards Rule,"

The wall morphed and disappeared. "Come on, let's go see what we can dig up." Gumball headed down the path, looking for some evidence that pointed to a girl named Ashley.

"Nnngh," Marshall stirred, opening his eyes. "Ugh I feel straight up awful," he sat up slowly. "Legit. Where am I?... I crash at someone's party again?"

"Marshy, you're up!" Ashley appeared in the doorway. "I'm so glad you're up, sweetie," she gushed.

Marshall wrinkled his nose in thought. "Ashley? Man, I had the MOST wacked-out dream… but I can't remember it now. It feels like I haven't seen you in, like, forever!" he floated off the couch and over to her, drifting around behind her, wrapping his arms around her. "My little queen of darkness,"

Ashley giggled. "I love it when you call me that."

"Yeah well, what can I say?" Marshall smirked. "You are my favorite lady, you know."

"I hope I've become your ONLY lady by now," Ashley said, playfully, but entirely serious.

Marshall thought a moment. "I guess you are. Wow. I can't believe I haven't talked to any of the other girls lately." He floated off and stopped in the kitchen. "Wh-where's my axe bass? Nnn… Ashley, my bass!" He whirled around to face her.

"Oh? That? I think you left it at your other home, sweetie. Want me to go get it for you?" Ashley realized she'd messed up. She walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Since you're staying a few days."

"Oh, no, I don't want my lovely queen of darkness going all that way. I'll go."

"NO!" Ashley shrieked, her voice high pitched, tearing its way through his already sensitive ears. Marshall jumped, startled at her sudden change in demeanor, from sweet and kind to terrifying. "I SAID I would go get it!"

"Woah! Okay, okay!" Marshall backpedaled, trying to figure out what to say. "Alright… you can go get it." He looked away from her, rubbing his upper arm. "Geez, Ashley, no need to get all like that about it."

"Thanks, sweetie." Ashley got up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Be back in a flash!" She turned and raced out the door, heading back to Marshall's house. "How could I forget he'd flip without that stupid thing? After all, last time, it was a stuffed animal he flipped out over."

They headed deeper into Wizard World, before finally arriving in front of the wizard leader. "We came before you because we're searching for a wizard woman named Ashley," Gumball looked up at him. He couldn't honestly imagine what was happening to Marshall, but it couldn't have been good.

"Hmmm… Ashley…" The wizard leader thought to himself. He reached to the side and pulled out a large book, going through it. "Ah! The banned one."

"... The… banned one?" Fionna frowned.

"Ashley is not allowed to show her presence in Wizard World any longer. Are you friends of hers?" the wizard leader asked, testily.

"No! She's jacked our friend!" Fionna said, angrily. "She is going DOWN when I get my hands on her!"

"... Very well. Ashley is not here, nor will she ever be again." The wizard leader replied.

They left Wizard World, heading back with heavy hearts. "Well… it's okay, Gumball, we're going to find him." Fionna said, confidently. "We just have to keep searching!"

"Yes, I'm sure you're correct," Gumball responded. "But Fionna… he was planning on leaving anyway, maybe he just did all that stuff to mess with us as he was leaving.

"No way! Gumball, Marshall would NOT just take off like that without saying goodbye. I don't believe it," Fionna said, angrily.

Gumball bit his lip. "If you say so… Fionna, I have a lot of business to attend to at the castle tonight. We don't seem to have any leads, so… if you don't mind?"

"Are you giving up on Marshal?" Fionna demanded.

"No! I just have to tie up some castle business and we'll resume in the morning," Gumball promised.

"... Alright, Gumball, but I'm gonna keep looking," Fionna frowned.

They went their separate ways.

Ashley walked up the steps and pushed the door open. "Ugh, Marshall's house is so trashy looking. Definitely needs the touch of a woman," she giggled. She went to the fridge and frowned at the contents. "I forgot he only eats red." She took an apple out, hopping on the counter, eating it. "Ugh. Marshall, why can't you eat something worth eating? Literally, like all he has in here is apples. Because of COURSE, tomatoes give him bad dreams or some nonsense." She finished her apple, throwing the core to the ground.

She sat there a moment before she heard the door open. She cast a spell on herself to make herself invisible, and waited, silently listening.

The door shut, and she heard steps moving towards the kitchen. She watched as a boy entered. _Mm. Prince Gumball. _She thought, disgusted. _What's he doing here? _As he went upstairs, Ashley nodded to herself. _Time to grab that axe bass and get out of here._

Gumball stood in the kitchen, feeling a tightness in his chest, as he looked around. _What if we don't find him? Or worse, what if he really did leave on his own and I'm wasting my time? _Gumball headed upstairs, walking through Marshall's bedroom. He opened the closet and looked inside, before pulling a shirt off the hangar and holding it to his face. _Smells like him. … No, no matter what, Marshall wouldn't leave his axe bass behind. I can't forget that. _Gumball took a seat on the bed, holding the shirt. Downstairs he heard a crash and he leapt to his feet, tearing downstairs in a flash, spotting a girl standing at the door, holding Marshall's Axe Bass in her hand. The TV had been knocked off its stand, lying broken on the floor. She looked up and met his eye.

"Hey!" Gumball yelled. She took off out the door and Gumball ran after her. "YOU GET BACK HERE!" He screamed as he chased her out the door. They ran out the cave and Ashley turned left, racing for home, the Axe Bass in her hand. As she ran, she cast a spell on her feet.

"LATER LOSER," she screamed, as she ran off at unmatchable speeds for the Prince.

After a bit, Gumball gave up, doubling over, panting for breath, the shirt still in his hand. "Ah… I… lost her…" he took a deep breath of air. "At least I know… which direction to look," he shook his head.


End file.
